


Pumpernickel Magic: Day 2

by BNZG



Series: Pumpernickel Magic [2]
Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Fantasy, Friendship, Giant/Tiny, Giants, Macro/Micro, Magical World, Size Difference, gentle giant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2018-12-26 02:05:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12049050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BNZG/pseuds/BNZG
Summary: Leon's second day as a pet in a magical world for people twenty times his size. He's not going to get used to this anytime soon.





	1. Morning

When Leon woke up, it was dark. Only a tiny sliver of moonlight shining through at the foot of his bed. He was very hungry.   
  
Lethargy nearly kept him in place in his "bed," but when he heard his stomach growl, he decided that food would have been better than a few more minutes of sleep.   
  
Lazily twisting under the covers, he stretched his arm out to reach for the light switch usually above his head. When his hand came into contact with nothing, his hand swung to and fro for a feel for the string, but couldn't find it. He exhaled through his nose before willing himself to lean up, propping himself up on his forearms as he blinked some of the blurs from his eyes. It only took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the little light coming through.   
  
Then it all came back to him once he saw the pail-sized bottle-cap, the phone-sized rice grain, the thick crumb and folded, sheet like meat on the other side of his "room." There was also that thimble, halfway filled with water, he had used in the kitchen sitting next to the food that Coen deposited earlier. Apparently, he had been too tired for him to have noticed Coen putting it there.   
  
The most telling thing that knocked him right out of his sleepy daze was the sound of something very large dozing above him, inhaling and exhaling like the wind. He could hear the ceiling heave ever so slightly, the moaning of the box springs.   
  
Coen was asleep above him, and Leon was still in a box under his bed.   
  
_"Just my luck that all that wasn't a dream."_ Leon lamented, getting to his feet and walking towards the food. The first thing he touched was the meat of whatever animal it was. It was colder, unfortunately, having been sitting there for hours, but Leon didn't care. His grumbling stomach wasn't going to allow him to be peckish. Ripping a piece off, he brought it to his mouth and chewed. It reminded him of ham, but it was slightly more garlicky to the taste. It also was so chewy, it took some time before he could swallow. It was pretty good, though, and he decided to get another piece.   
  
After he had eaten the second piece of meat, he got an idea and went to the bread. Tearing off two pieces, he ripped a larger slice of the meat and placed it between the two, forming a rather ugly sandwich. Carefully pulling the thimble towards the bed, he sat down and enjoyed his meal in the moonlight. Sometime after, he began to feel cold, so he put his hoodie, along with his glasses and shoes, back on and resumed eating.   
  
Leon had wanted to laugh at the randomness of it all: from a tea shop clerk to a child's pet. All in the span of a day. He wondered if he were to ever make it back, would anyone believe him? That anyone could possibly believe a world filled with giants that were capable of using magic existed? That people had been taken to this world for centuries on end at one point and no one knew the wiser? Probably not.   
  
But more pressing, would he even make it back? Was it truly impossible for him to go back? And even if a way was discovered to travel back to Earth, would Coen allow him to? He didn't really know anything about the boy. His life, his parents, his friends, his hobbies, anything. Of course, it had only been day one, but the fact that he knew very little about his captor disturbed him. Why did he want a human? Why did he go through all that trouble to get him here? Why did he live in such a big house?   
  
Well, Leon surmised, he had plenty of time to figure that out as long as he was there.   
  
Leon, up until yesterday, could have said that his life, while filled with several ups and downs, was fairly typical. He had went to school, was raised by his mother, and had friends he could hang out with. It was predictable and normal, and while he wasn't happy with the lack of direction that was going on with it, he wouldn't have forsaken it for  _this_  kind of change. He wondered if his pessimism was what got him into it, or maybe he was beginning to appreciate what he had now that he felt like he was light years away from it. He was twenty-two, with more room to make changes in his life, to actually do something. But what would he be able to do now?   
  
Leon finished the sandwich, leaning down to get some more water. The thimble was actually a bit heavy, even though it wasn't filled as much with water as last time, so he carefully tipped it until he got a nice swig of water from it. He went to make another sandwich before getting lost in his thoughts about an uncertain future.  
  
He hadn't touched the rice.   
  


\---   

Leon had been lost in his thoughts when he heard Coen waking up. The bed creaked all around him, as Coen let out a loud yawn that he could be heard from below. 

Only five seconds had passed when the ground shook, sending Leon toppling forward onto the matted floor of the box before the place shifted frontwards. The sun peaked, overcoming the night, as Leon brushed his eyes with the back of his sleeve. Brought out into the open, he could see the sky high ceiling once more until Coen's billboard sized head loomed above. He was smiling brightly, his eyes shining with excitement. 

"Good morning, Clip!" came Coen's jaunty voice. 

Leon moaned, standing to his feet before looking back up to the child with a weary, tired expression. "Isn't it kind of early? What kid wakes up the moment the sun comes up?" 

"Me," answered Coen, "At least when I can! And besides, you're one to talk. What are you doing up?" 

"I was up for hours," Leon replied feeling uncomfortable under Coen's large, blue, effervescent eyes. It sent chills how much scrutiny he was under, and that there was no hiding from them where he was. He felt like squirming. "I already slept a lot." 

"Yeah, you sure did!" Coen agreed, shifting before lowering his hand into the box. "When I came back, you were knocked out! At least you ate your food." 

Leon backed away in alarm when Coen's hand descended towards him. But instead of picking him up, it laid across the opposite side of the box, palm side up and fingers extended. It alone took up half of his "room." 

Leon stared at it apprehensively for several seconds until the index fingered curled upwards towards the palm, a couple times, forming a "Come here" motion before lying flat once more. Leon merely looked up to Coen, who was giving him a patient smile before he told him, "Climb on. I'll take you outta there. C'mon." 

Leon looked back at Coen's hand. He didn't like being in it, and memories of getting grabbed flooded in from yesterday made it hard for him to move towards it. But, he realized, there was no other way out the box and that if he didn't move soon, Coen might just decide to pluck him up instead. Either way, he didn't have a choice in the matter. He'd might as well bite the bullet.

Coen looked like he was ready to explode with glee when Leon began to near his hand. The blond stared at the fingers warily before stepping onto them and making his way to the center of his palm. Not a moment later, the hand rose up, causing Leon to fall on his back against the trunk sized fingers. The hand stopped for a moment before continuing its ascent to Coen's face. 

The child's huge face looked absolutely giddy at the sight of the relatively, small human in his hand. It was obvious that he liked carrying him, like a mouse or hamster or whatever rodent kids his age kept in this world. At least Coen was old enough to know to know better than the squeeze him or prod him too much, like what younger kids would do to the pet mice in his Science class when he was in first grade. Leon wouldn't know if he would have been in one piece if the boy was any younger. 

"I can't believe you're real...and here..." Coen whispered, turning his hand to get better looks at Leon, who clenched his fingers as to not be jarred by the movements. 

"Heh...took the words right out of my mouth." Leon replied humorlessly, still unable to fathom that he was in a world of giants even as the insurmountable amount of evidence literally surrounded him no matter where he looked. 

Coen's face grew happier and happier as he stared at Leon until he lifted his hand with him to the side of his face. Before Leon could so much as shout, he found himself pressed into Coen's left cheek. Smothered between the side of Leon's face and his hand, Leon could only look utterly gobsmacked as Coen cuddled him against his cheek as though he were a brand new puppy, or a kitten. Even in his racing mind, he couldn't help but wonder had Coen contained himself the previous day after seeing him so scared. Had he not been so panicked, maybe he would have done something like that yesterday. 

"I have a Terran! My own little Terran! I still can't believe it!" Coen exclaimed, continuing to snuggle him. "I'm so going to take good care of you and show you everything and l-" 

"Coen," Leon gasped out, trying to push himself from being stifled by his cheek, "You're crushing me!" 

The moment he said that, the hand dropped back, as did he, from the side of his face as Coen held him between his palms, allowing him to catch his breath. Coen looked a bit guilty. "Sorry Clip. I'm just happy about everything, y'know?" 

"It's Leon," the 22-year-old replied between breaths, "And I'm afraid I don't feel the same way. Coen, remember what you promised!" 

Coen's face drew into a pout. "Yeah, yeah. I remember. Way to kill my mood. Anyway..." he went on, changing the topic, "I'm going to go to the bathroom to get ready for the day. I'll be back in ten minutes, okay?" 

Leon frowned. "Are you going to put me back in the box?" 

The boy shook his head, raising a finger to pat Leon. "No need. Everyone's asleep so no one's going to open the door, and I know you can't get out anyway. So, I think you'll be fine on the floor. Unless you want to go on the desk?" 

"I'll stay on the floor. There's nothing for me to do on the desk and it's too high." Leon said before leaning up, "Coen, I don't think you know this but I'm going to need more than food, a bed, and a...'toilet' in the long run." 

Coen smiled in understanding. "I know. I promise Clip, I will get you everything you need in time. We can figure it all out when I come back." 

The boy placed his hand down onto the carpeted portion of his floor, allowing Leon to climb off of it in haste. Once Leon was standing among the blue, wool tendrils around the lower portion of his legs, Coen stood up. 

Leon gulped and took a few steps back as Coen rose to his full height, several stories above the former clerk and looked down at him from high above. Now that Leon was level to around his ankle, he fervently wished he chosen the box option, while trying to reassure himself that if Coen wanted him dead, he would have done him in by now. Fortunately, he was aware that Coen didn't wish harm to him at all, but looking at the dizzying height of a child clad in a button down pajama shirt and wool pajama pant, it was hard to push that paranoia away. 

"You can check out anything you can get to down there Clip," Coen said, bending down with his hands on his knees to look a Leon. "But stay away from the door. I don't want to accidentally swing it open and hit you with it, okay?" 

"Uh...y-yeah," stammered Leon, which wasn't lost on Coen. 

"And don't be so scared every time. Like I said, I'm not going to hurt you." Coen told him gently, more than aware of his pet's trepidation, before straightening up and walking towards the door, each footstep sending a tremor that rocked the ground beneath him. 

Before he opened the door, Coen took one more look at Leon and grinned before exiting, closing the door behind himself. 

Leaving the blond alone. 

Leon merely stared at the titanic door before letting out a heavy sigh. 

A new start to the new rest of his life. 

"Beautiful." He mumbled before stretching. 

He might as well take a look around the room, he thought. After all, unlike before, he wasn't in stupefied shock or running for his life. And he had about ten minutes to himself. So long was the sun up, he had no idea just how much free roam he'd be allowed from here on. Better make use of some of the freedom he was allotted. 

The first thing he wanted to check out was the trophy situated near his pile of books that reached to building heights and the corner. The one the size of a statue. 

Given how expansive the room was, he decided to lightly jog towards it to save time. After all, everything was so far from each other at this scale. When he got close enough to touch it, he looked up at it, and realized the man standing on the golden surface was much taller than he originally thought, standing at nine to ten feet tall, making the whole assembly roughly fifteen feet high. The red he was looking at was more velvety in color, but metallic to the touch, with the orange ring looped above the man's shoulders like the sun were far too high for him to even reach. He'd definitely would need to ask about this thing when Coen got back.    

The next thing he jogged towards was the clutter of monster cards spread across the center of the floor. While he was tempted to call them Pokemon cards, they also reminded him of the days he avidly played Yu-Gi-Oh as a child as well. Grabbing the edge of one card and leaning it up to stand, he realized he estimated correctly about them being as tall as he was, the card maybe slightly taller by an inch. The writing on it was not in English, or at least in anything that used Latin alphabets, so he could only go by pictures. The one he picked up held a picture of an absolutely  _vicious_ -looking, bloodthirsty  _flower_  of all things, with sharp canines and reptile eyes and covered in thorns.  

He'd definitely prioritized finding out whatever game this was. It looked savage. 

After a minute of looking at the face of monsters on the cards, he decided to head towards the action figures near the enormous bookcase that rose high above. Upon closer inspection, he realized they were closer to figurines than action figures, lacking in the ball and joints in their limbs. Dressed in sculpted garbs ranging from attire he'd expect from the Lord of the Rings to warlords, they looked fairly detailed. Well, aside from them being completely faceless that is. 

Before he had the chance to touch them, however, he heard Coen's footsteps sound from behind the door, causing him to jump. For a moment, he really considered going into hiding again, but waved the thought away. He didn't want Coen to come searching for him and ending up in a "chase," if he could call it that, like he did yesterday. Plus, while Coen did bring him there to be his pet, he seemed mostly nice enough, the last thing Leon wanted to do was push his limits. It'd probably end up with him always being in the box whenever he went unsupervised. So, he remained where he was when the door opened.

The door was only opened halfway when Coen came in, the boy carefully stepping into the room, heedful of his steps as he closed the door behind him. Wearing a pair of gray, straight sweatpants and a white t-shirt with single, dark yellow stripe across the middle, he still looked far too casual for someone he'd saw was capable of incredible magic. Then again, who was he to talk or judge? Only a day ago (if even that), he didn't even think magic was even real.   

"Clip," Coen called out gingerly, the stupid name still grinding his gears, "Where are you?" 

"It's Leon," he responded, cupping his hands around his mouth to be heard. It apparently worked as Coen immediately turned his head in his direction, landing his eyes on him a split second afterwards. He smiled brightly at the sight of the human situated among the figurines and made his way towards him, crossing the distance in less two seconds, far too quickly for Leon's comfort, causing him to stumble backwards a bit. Seeing how gigantic the boy was from the floor was more than a bit nerve-racking. 

Kneeling down towards the antsy human, took a brief moment to steady himself with one hand. "I see you got a chance to look at my figures," Coen stated before glancing at the playing card of the flower that was leaning against the stack, "...and even the DM cards. I'm happy you decided to take a look around. Thought you'd try to run or hide again. Glad you didn't."  

"Well, I did say that if you promised me, I wouldn't be scared of you anymore," Leon pointed out, straightening his posture, "And besides, there isn't really much of a place to book it too. I'm not quite in my world, so even if I did run, I'd probably get stuck at the stairs or something." 

"You're so honest," Coen chuckled, shifting into a cross-legged position on the floor, "I mostly appreciate that." 

"Mostly?" Leon questioned, perturbed. 

"Mostly," Coen reiterated. Looking back at the figurines then back at Leon, Coen's grin grew. "Hey, wanna see something amazing?" 

Coen tilted his head. Almost anything seemed amazing in this new world, if not terrifying. "Like what?" 

Leaning over, held one hand over the figurines while the hand closest to him pointed to a spot close to his knee. "Back away from the figures, Clip. I'm  _preeeeet-ty_ sure you don't want to get caught up in the middle. Trust me." 

Alarmed, yet confused, Leon complied, steadily walking towards the area near Coen's knee that he pointed towards. Once he was close enough, Coen refocused on the sixteen, black figurines in front of him. 

Flexing his hand, a white, spherical light emitted out of his palm, descending towards the center of the figurines. Leon watched in awe as the ball of light hovered right above the figurines, right before splitting into sixteen smaller balls of light a second later. Leon gaped as the balls of light surged into each figurine, allowing them to glow brightly like illuminescence for a solid five seconds. 

And when the light dissipated, the figurines literally came to life. 

Leon eyes were wide with wonderment as the figurines, still black and faceless, charged towards each other, swords and shields in hand before they clashed. Swords against swords brushed against each other as if they were made of metal, the figurines moving as though they were made of flesh and blood rather than ceramic, each motion was fluid and practical. There wasn't any hint of the typical roboticism found as there limbs moved in human like ways, as they battled. The four swordsmen engaged fiercely into battle, as the archers sent arrows across the "field," the warlords gesturing wildly as the battle raged. 

Leon watched in wonderment at the whole thing, an arm slowly raising to point at them as fought on. "They're alive...they're...actually...you made them alive..." 

"Not alive," Coen's voice came from above. "Enchanted." 

And, just as soon as the battle started it ended, with the black figurines withdrawing their weaponry before walking back into their spots, as if they hadn't been at each other's throats a second ago. They marched into their previous positions, weapons at their side and stilled. Truly stilled. All except one, a warlord figurine, that was walking towards Leon and Coen. 

"This was the latest thing I'm supposed to be working on. Mr. Loriscalo gave them to me to practice on," Coen explained as the enchanted piece "looked" (as much as a being with no eyes could) up at Coen before turning it's "gaze" to at Leon. The blond man jumped as it made it's way towards him, walking soundlessly across the floor. 

"Don't be scared," Coen cooed, looking down at the human who bumped into his knee as he backed away from the approaching figurine. "I have full control of it. All of them. That's what I've been working on these past couple of weeks. They can only move under my will and, like I said..." as if to accentuate his point, the figurine, easily a head taller than Leon, reached over and ruffled the top of the blond's hair, who swatted the hand after a solid three seconds of stupefaction. "I'm not going to let you get hurt." 

"Alright, alright..." Leon said, raising a hand up to straighten his hair while watching as the figurine walked away, back to it's original position. "I have to admit...that's incredible!" 

"Isn't it?" Coen agreed, absolutely delighted at his pet's astonishment. "And soon, I'm going to work on bigger things. Puppets, mannequins...even suits of armor!"   

"That actually brings up a question," Leon began to inquire, watching as the warlord figurine stopped once it reached it's original position, becoming completely immobile, "Not than any of this isn't cool and all, but... _why_ are you learning these kinds of things? I mean...for what use?" 

"Oh, yeah that," Coen responded, as Leon met him in the eyes. "Well, you see, I'm kind of being trained to be an archmage." 

Leon's eyes widened. "Archmage!? Like, one of those people who can...well, make storms? Stop time?  _Defeat_ dragon-style monsters with one hit? Those kind of  _archmages?"_

In response to Leon's bewilderment, Coen merely shrugged. "Well, that's what everyone is saying. They said that I have the abilities. I just need the discipline and knowledge. I mean, even I don't know if I'm capable of being that powerful yet. But Mr. Loriscalo keeps telling me that he sees it in me...but, only time will tell." 

"But...you're only ten years old." Leon said, his voice quiet. 

"I know," Coen said, shifting a bit, "And that's why I don't know." 

Leon felt the ground buckle as Coen returned to his kneeling position, and he took several steps away from the giant before Coen reached down towards him, gently gathering him up into his palm before getting into a standing position. "Well, now that I'm dressed and all, how about breakfast, Clip?" 

"Leon." 

"Whatever you say,  _Clip._ But really now...breakfast?" 

Leon huffed but shortly nodded. "Yeah, breakfast sounds good. But...uh first, can I talk to you about something?" 

Coen blinked before nodding. "Sure, anything. What's up?" 

Leon paled a bit, before he found the words coming out of his mouth. "It's about my um...toilet arrangements..."


	2. Outside

Leon wasn't really all that hungry, having ate the left over food Coen had given him last night. So he only ate a portion of the egg and toast that was broken off for him. Looking at the left over piece of egg that was as long as his hand to his elbow as well as the two fist sized crumbs of toast that were set on a sheet of folded napkin the size of a blanket to him, he was sure that even if he was hungry enough, whatever would be left would be enough for lunch and dinner. He wondered if the food in this strange world were exactly identical; there were bound to be some spectacular food like dragon meat or something, right?   
  
The blonde let out a yawn as he leaned against the empty, silver candle holder centered in the middle of the dining table, watching as the gigantic raven-haired child continued to eat his portions of breakfast. Chewing what had to be pieces of egg the size of tables and chairs he would see in his own kitchen, the boy gave him a glance and swallowed. "You're  _still_  tired? After sleeping so many times?"   
  
Leon looked back up at the child, whose eyes were nearly directly overhead. "Well, of course. Not everyone is an early bird like you. And besides," he said, leaning further against the candle holder, "I stayed up a good portion of the night just...thinking."   
  
Coen's eyes didn't leave the human's reclining form as he reached for the toast, already half eaten but still the size of a bed. "What were you thinking about?" He asked before taking a bite into the toast, crisps the size of bricks falling to the plate below, unnoticed to Coen, but definitely observed by Leon.   
  
The bespectacled, young man sent a glare to the boy, who was munching away on his toast. "Take a wild guess."   
  
Coen's stopped chewing for a moment, before exhaling through his nose. He quickly finished off the food in his mouth and put the toast back down on his plate.  _"Look,_ I know you're still upset with me and want me to send you back Terra," Coen admitted, evidently tired of coming back to the conversation over and over. "But like I told you, again and again, I'm going to take good care of you. It hasn't even been a full day yet," Coen's eyes became softer, "You gotta give it a chance, Clip."   
  
"You see? _That._  That right there," Leon said with a mild snarl before jabbing a thumb to is chest. "My name is Leon, Coen. Leon Kendall Sanders. L-E-O-N. German for the word lion and...wait, do you even have lions in this world?"   
  
Coen smiled, "We sure do! Some of them have yellow fur, white fur, and tan fur, but the ones bred in Sarcadia have gr-"   
  
Leon shook his hands front of himself, "No, no, never mind that! I'm getting off topic." Leon pushed himself into a straighter position. "Okay, so what I'm trying to say is that I actually am a person, Coen. And although I know for a fact that you probably don't really care all that much about my life a-"   
  
"I  _do_ care about your life, Clip!" Coen interjected, looking rather offended, "Do you honestly think that I would take care of you if I didn't?"   
  
Leon let out a long sigh. "You're...you're just not getting it at all...ugh, why am I wasting my breath when it's extremely clear you're not going to any time soon?" The blonde pushed the napkin away from himself and extended his legs forward. "It's too early for this anyway." he muttered, facing the sky high ceiling before using a hand to rub his temples.   
  
Coen looked down at him pointedly for a moment before he spoke, "Fine, if that's how you feel, then let's change the subject."   
  
Leon's eyes drifted to the child as he finished the rest of his breakfast in a few bites. "To what?"   
  
"Your living arrangements!" Coen said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, placing his fork down onto the empty plate. "Like I told you yesterday, I'm going to get you a better place to stay in several days from now. But..." The boy's eyes widened in expectancy as he gazed down at the little human in front of him. "...I'd still kind of want your opinion on what to get for you. I'm thinking a dollhouse. What do you think?"   
  
Leon jumped in place immediately, flabbergasted. "Uh... _what!?"_         
  
"About a dollhouse for you," Coen elaborated, bringing up his forefinger and index and holding them a few feet apart, or to Coen, a few inches. "You're about  _this_  big, give or take. I can definitely get furniture for you around that size, good quality ones too. Plus, you can have your own deck and I can even get you your own hot tub or slide or s-"   
  
"Hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it!" Leon cut in, standing up to his feet and giving the giant a look as though he had starting speaking gibberish. "A  _dollhouse!?_ You cannot be serious. I'm not a doll, Coen!"   
  
 _"Psh,"_  the ten-year-old scoffed, looking a little amused by his pet's reaction. "Of course I know that, silly. It's painfully obvious you're not. Why would I bother bringing a doll all the way across worlds?" Coen tapped the side of his plate, smiling brightly at Leon, who still looked dumbfounded. "No, the reason I suggested a dollhouse is because it might be something you'd really like. I mean," Coen gave a light sneer, "I'm pretty sure that you'd hate being in a cage or anything."   
  
"Oh God,  _please_ don't even think about putting me in a cage." Leon said with a noticeable shiver. That would truly be the final nail on his coffin if he were to be kept in a box with metal bars, or worse yet, one of those made of plastic where his voice would be muted. He'd feel like he would be in a zoo, only for his daily life to be on full display, to be watched as entertainment and taken out at the leisure of his young owner.   
  
Luckily, it seemed that Coen knew this all too well. "Well,  _duh!_ I'm not going to put you in a cage, Clip. I can tell right off the bat that you'd hate being in one. That's why I'm trying to expand my options by asking you." Coen gave the blonde a reassuring smile, "I do want you to be comfortable."   
  
Leon still looked a bit apprehensive, but after a moment, he relaxed a little. "Alright...what are your other options then?"   
  
Coen put a finger to the bottom of his chin, "Well, the other thing I was thinking was to give you free roam, but I don't want to chance it since...well, although I know you said you won't try to run away, I can't be too sure. Not yet anyway. Plus, if Ms. Aria were to see you, I..." Coen's mouth formed into a tight lipped frown. "I ...don't think it'll end well. For either you or me.  _Especially_  you. No... _most definitely_  not for you."   
  
"This...Ms. Aria lady...does she really hate humans or something?" Leon asked, feeling worry well up in the pit of his stomach.  
  
"Something like that." Coen answered, moving the finger from his chin to scratch his cheek. "Not just humans either. She doesn't like small critters at all. I remember hearing a story a while ago from one of the other maids that she nearly set the house on fire when a lippet came into the house."   
  
"Lippet?" Leon asked, tilting his head.   
  
"Yeah, a lippet. The rodents with yellow eyes and four tipped ears th-wait..." Coen stopped himself, observing the look of confusion on the human's face. "I'm guessing you don't have lippets in your world, do you?"   
  
"This is the first time I've even heard that word, kid." Leon told him, shaking his head slowly.   
  
Coen grinned brightly. "Well then, here's a quick lesson then: lippets are rodents that are pretty much everywhere. They eat fruits. dry wood, and nuts."   
  
"So, they're basically squirrels then?"   
  
Coen shook his head. "Not quite. They kinda have a similar build and size, but lippets have these three long tails that go up and down." Coen made a gesture with his hands, his fingers moving in a quick flurry. "They have yellow eyes, four ears and they're almost all white. Some are gray in the Jahivi forest though. And if you scare them... _poof!"_ Coen extended his hands away, "They teleport."    
  
Leon's eyes went wide.  
  
"... _Teleport!?"_  
  
Coen nodded, as if it were a completely normal thing. "Yep! Teleport. Not far though. Only a few revs away. They do it too if they sneeze hard enough." Coen suddenly gave a light giggle, "I remember seeing one sneeze and end up on top of a house. It almost fell off. It was kind of funny."   
  
Leon still appeared a bit lost. "Coen, you've just said so many things that I don't understand."   
  
"Ah...hmm..." Coen brought a hand to his face and looked contemplative for a moment. After a solid ten seconds, he lowered his hand to the table next to Leon, who was startled by the limb's approach. "You know what, I think it's best that I show you in person."   
  
Leon warily eyed the hand before looking up at the young mage. "What? You're going to show me an image in a book or computer or something?"   
  
"Nope," Coen replied, tapping the back of his hand on the table to get his obvious message, that he wanted Leon to climb on, across, "I'm going to show you one in person. Outside."   
  
Still, the former clerk didn't budge. "You're going to take me  _outside?_ Like...right now?"   
  
"Sure am!" Coen exclaimed, as he reached towards Leon with his other hand. Leon tried to back away but the boy reached behind him and extended a finger that landed on the small of his back. The finger gently, but firmly, pushed him forward, forcing him to step up onto the boy's fingers and walk into the center of his palm. Once the twenty-two year old was able to gain purchase and steady himself, the finger retreated. "Now stop being so difficult and let me take you out."   
  
"But isn't it kinda ea- _wah!"_ Leon cried out as the hand underneath him fidgeted before the enormous fingers behind him rose. And barely a moment later, he felt himself rising. He instantly latched onto Coen's thumb for stability, which the giant obligingly kept still for him as he rose into the air.   
  
Coen had stood up from his chair and grabbed the plate and fork with his free hand. Leon quickly took a sitting position as the boy moved towards the sink. It was when after he saw him place the enormous dish down when he asked again. "But isn't it kinda early? Don't you need permission to go outside?"    
  
"Not if I'm only in the garden or around the house. Aunt Renice trusts me enough."   
  
"I don't know if it's trust or laissez-faire parenting."   
  
Coen tilted his head,  _"Laissez-_ what now?"   
  
 _"Laissez-faire..._ you know, french for 'let it be,'" Leon explained, watching the boy still blink and tilt his head further. A thought occurred to him as Coen continued to look at him in confusion. "It's an Earth language. From a country called France. But there are several francophone countries or areas that speak the language too."   
  
"Ah, I see," Coen's head righted itself back up. "So laissez faire means to...'let it be?' Can you expand upon that?"   
  
"So...basically laissez faire originally was...a term for the economic system used where the government doesn't get in the way of...well, businesses and, well, let them do what they want," Leon began, trying to recollect his lessons from world history in his high school days. "Like, governments wouldn't put things like tariffs or regulations and stuff on businesses. The people, business owners would have the say on what they do. They could do and sell what they wanted. Do you follow me?"   
  
To his relief, the boy nodded; Leon was silently grateful that Coen was an exceptionally intelligent child. "I do. So...what you're trying to tell me is that you think Aunt Renice let's me do anything I want?"   
  
"Uh..." Leon just stared for a moment, definitely wishing Coen had phrased that a little differently. "Well...um, when you say it like that..." Leon scratched the back of his head with the arm that wasn't wrapped around Coen's thumb before bluntly saying, "Yes."   
  
Coen smiled down to the blonde warmly before using a finger from his other hand to rustle Leon's hair . "Heh, trust me, you're not the only one who thinks that. But if that were the case, I wouldn't be keeping you hidden...at least for now. And besides..." Coen's smile broadened as he watched the human in his hand try to bat away the finger on his head, "Believe it or not, she can be  _very_ strict on some of the things I do. I had to negotiate getting a later bedtime with her last year."     
  
"Alright, alright..." Leon grumbled as he continued to try to push the finger away, which, after a moment, Coen allowed him to. As much as a finger that was several times stronger than he was could be allowed to anyway, Leon surmised, realizing Coen had just simply toyed with him. "I get it! Geez, one of the things she needs to teach you on is about boundaries! Sheesh!"   
  
"Aw c'mon, don't be such a grump." Coen chuckled before turning away from the sink, "I think seeing the outdoors will do you some good. Besides, I still want to show you what lippets look like."   
  
"Well, whatever," Leon said, withholding a sigh before mumbling under his breath, "Doesn't seem like I have a choice in the matter anyway."    
  
Whatever spell he casted on himself seemed to have lost its effect, since Coen made no indication that he heard him. With Leon in one hand, the boy walked towards the front doors with careful steps.   
  
As they passed through the corridors, the corners of Leon's mouth pinched downwards. It as weird, and unsettling, to think that, from here to...an indeterminable amount of time in the future (there was no way he was going to think from now on), Leon would have to rely on Coen to go from place to place. It was already bad enough that he knew that he would need the child's help just to get out from a box, which had walls he couldn't scale, let alone traversing from room to room. It would take several minutes, if not hours just to cross the distance Coen did from his room to the kitchen on his own, which didn't even take half a minute for the boy to do. If Coen were to forget where he was, or decide to leave him stranded, there would be nothing he could do.   
  
For that matter, if Coen were to either forget to or purposefully not feed him...to supply him water...leave him in the box...   
  
There was suddenly a sour taste in Leon's mouth.    
  
He had to depend on this kid for nearly  _everything._    
  
He would  _never_ be able to get used to this feeling. Not comfortably.     
  
Just how much independence would he be able to have? Or just how much of it did he actually have  _left?  
_  
After a few more seconds of walking, Coen reached the patio doors. He brushed the green, cashmere curtains away, the light flooding in momentarily blinding Leon who raised a hand to his eyes. while still shielding his eyes, he heard Coen open the glass doors and then was slightly lurched forward when the boy stepped out.   
  
The first thing that hit him was the morning breeze, causing Leon to involuntarily shudder. It wasn't necessarily cold, it definitely was leagues warmer than Tuesday had been back on Earth. But cooler than it had been inside the house. After a moment, his eyes managed to calibrate to the influx of light.   
  
They were in a large, open, outdoor loft with two wooden ramps located on both sides, leading to a cobbled stone path. Two hexagonal, glass tables were sitting in the center, with four cushioned brown chairs each. Both patio umbrellas were folded; but were still higher than most trees Leon had ever seen. Buildings even.   
  
There was an elevated, granite fire pit in the center, just ahead of the tables. Lounge chairs were stationed around it, a distance that seemed adequately safe from any embers and close enough for warmth. And even further ahead, was a shimmering wall which, after taking a closer look, was actually a bookcase. There were sparkles coming from it, a glimmer.   
  
"That's...not glass is it?" Leon asked, eyes blinking in awe.   
  
"Nope, that's a protective spell in place," Coen answered. "Protects the books from the elements. Hang on, we're going to the garden to see if we can get you a look at a lippet."   
  
Coen walked down the ramp on his right, with Leon having to steel himself a bit to the sudden slight vertigo, which thankfully wasn't as intense when Coen used the stairs. When he reached the bottom, he looked down to catch his pet staring in absolute reverie at his surroundings.   
  
Leon had a hard enough time trying to grasp the scale of the new world he was currently in, what with the furniture and objects around him being blown up to sizes that made him feel like he was the size of a small toy, although he hadn't changed in height. Now, what he was looking at were vast swathes of lush greenery that extended as far as his eyes could make out clearly. There were pathways bordered by primly cut bushes which held a light blue flowers that Leon had wished he knew whatever they were called. In between the paths were flower beds aligned in a strip. Some flowers were easy to recognize, like the bed of roses, saffrons, daises and camellia; others were harder to place, with his limited knowledge of plants like the orange and yellow flowers placed further up, and others he had to wonder if they were even an Earth equivalent, with transparent petals and some even  _glowing_ and twisted into spirals in ways he'd never seen. There were several archways with vines that crawled and wrapped around and between the wooden supports.    
  
But despite the garden's beauty, what grabbed Leon attention the most wasn't what was _in_  the garden, but what was far, far  _above_ it.   
  
In the sky, faded by blue, were white lines that were interspersed into intricate patterns. As if they were actually connected constellations. They were all in round shapes, far beyond the clouds that seemed to have no end or beginning as far as he could see.   
  
"What's...up with the sky?"   
  
Coen looked up upon hearing Leon's question, looking in several directions. "What do you mean?"   
  
Leon pointed up to the numerous round shapes in the sky. "They're lines...they're lines and shapes in the  _sky!"_  
  
Coen looked back at the human occupying his hand. "You don't have those on Terra?"   
  
"No..." Leon shook his head, his wonderstruck eyes not leaving the sky. "No, we don't."   
  
"Huh," Coen responded airily, continuing forward, walking through one of the floral pathways. "Those are normal here. You can see them all the time during clear skies. They're called Arcamiusian Rings. Or Arcamiusian Strians for the lines that aren't connected."   
  
"Do...do they do anything?" Leon asked, still caught in wonderment at such alien markings that were literally all around him.   
  
"Nah, they're just there...at least, most people don't think they do. A lot of scholars think they are effects of the magic surrounding the land. But I don't know about that. However..." Coen looked back up into the sky, face illuminated by the sun, "They might be onto something if you don't have them in Terra."   
  
"I'm about ninety-nine percent sure they're right," said the blonde as Coen carried him over to a rather simple-looking, wooden table which had two matching chairs beneath it. Once he was close enough, the child placed his hand down for Leon to climb off, which he did instantly.   
  
"Well, maybe." Coen agreed, straightening up once the human was out of his palm. "I heard in some realms, they change shape every few centuries and in others, they can be manipulated with enough effort. But I don't know for a fact since I've only been to two different realms so far."   
  
"These realms you're talking about...can you get to them through the magical gates?"   
  
 _"Dimensional_  gates," Coen corrected, "And most definitely! They tend to all be in big cities though, like Talsimo, Vermella, Orona and the like, but yeah. It's pretty simple. But you need passes to go through, like passports, but not quite."   
  
"Do you have one?"   
  
"Of course I do, or else I wouldn't have been able t- _oh!"  
  
_ Surprised to see Coen's head snap to his left, Leon followed his eyes to see what had grabbed the boy's attention, his eyes widening once he saw exactly what he was looking at.   
  
On the ground floor, standing on two feet was a white-furred creature that looked a lot like a squirrel, with fain traces of a weasel and almost something completely alien. Curling like a hook were the creature's three, thin tails that moved independently from one another. The creatures eyes were gold, with no visible pupil but shimmering sclera and irises. Had Coen not told him that it had four ears, Leo would have mistook it for two, with the sets being so close together, it took a twitch of one sharp ear for him to realize it was separate.    
The creature wasn't looking at them. It's head was lowered, sniffling and poking into one of the bushes with a pink nose, no doubt sniffing for food.   
  
Leon's mouth hung open for several solid seconds. "Is...is that a lippet?"   
  
"It is," Coen said in a softer tone, wary of the creature's obliviousness.   
  
"It looks like a Pokemon!" Leon blurted out with a laugh.  
  
"A what now?" Coen asked, looking down at the blonde. His expression became soft; it was the first time Leon openly and genuinely smiled since he caught him.    
  
"A Pokemon! You know, 'Gotta catch them all,' and  _'I wanna be the very best, like no one ever w_ -oh.'  That's right," Leon cut himself short before he swallowed. "Nevermind. But...I've never seen something like that before!"   
  
Coen smile never left his face. "They're not exactly uncommon here, but they tend to disappear before you get too close to one." He lowered his voice to a whisper, "This one doesn't seem to even realize that we know it's there."   
  
"Does it really teleport?" Leon asked, watching the creature retreat it's head out from the bush and place it into a different spot.   
  
"Hold on," Coen said as he knelt down, so quickly that he was out of sight in an instant. And just as quickly, the boy returned to his normal height, with something in his hand. Before Leon could ask what it was, he lightly tossed a rock, or what would have been a stone bigger than Leon's head, in one hand. "Watch this."   
  
Rearing an arm back, Coen positioned his arm to face the bush behind the alien creature, before he flung the rock forward, the rock landing in the bush with a short rustle of leaves.   
  
The creature, lippet, let out a short, high pitched screech.   
  
And then disappeared in a small flash of light.    
  
"No  _way!"_ the blonde cried out ecstatically, looking at the spot where the creature just was. "It...it actually vanished! Just like that!" Leon began to turn his head every which way, trying to find the creature's location. "Where is it? Where'd it go!?"   
  
Coen's voice was heavily amused when he pointed towards a bush that was further out from the garden and told him, "Over there."   
  
Leon quickly turned to follow Coen's large finger. He was unable to fully see the creature from his lower vantage point, but could make out the three tails bouncing around as the lippet skittered away, exiting the garden before disappearing in another instant flash, reappearing much further away, dashing away and nearing the skyscraper-sized trees that were significantly further away.    
  
Leon continued to watch it is unfeigned interest as the creature went further and further until he couldn't make it out anymore.   
  
"Well?" He heard Coen say before before he felt a light tap on his head, forcing him to look at the boy whose smile was broader than ever before. "Aren't you happy I decided to take you outside?"   
  
Leon closed his mouth and looked away, letting out a single fake cough. It took him a moment for him to respond, hiding his previous excitement the best he could. "I guess it was a kinda nice idea."    
  
"Uh huh," Coen teased, giving him a smug, knowing smile. "Well, glad we got to see a lippet so quickly. In any case, how about I show you around the garden? We still have about fifteen minutes before the gardener comes. Can't have him seeing you and telling Aunt Renice or Ms. Aria."    
  
Leon would have normally shuddered, having remembered Coen telling him that those two wouldn't take too well to his presence. But at the moment, a childlike curiosity and awe were slowly pushing his fears aside. A sense of wonderment that he hadn't felt in such a long time had welled up inside of him. It was such a refreshing feeling, a feeling he missed deeply.   
  
Doing his best to hide his growing inquisitiveness, he looked Coen in the eyes, who looked down at him, knowing he held the blonde's interest.    
  
In a voice that sounded rather hopeful, he asked, "Um...okay then, well...can you get me a closer look at what those flowers with the transparent petals are?"        


	3. Needy

"Kinda shocked that there were no Venus flytraps or anything like it." Leon said, using a hand to shield his eyes from the sun.  
  
"A Venus flytrap?" Coen asked, tilting his head in confusion, eyes on the human in his palm.  
  
"Yeah, y'know...a bug eating plant." Leon specified, bringing up his hands and putting putting his wrists together, "They have this thing that leads flies to them and then," he brought his hands together in a clap, "Snap. Eaten."   
  
Coen's eyes widened a little, "Oh, you mean carnivorous plants? We have some in Mira, but why would we keep one in the garden? We  _want_ bugs in there!"   
  
"Not saying I don't understand why...I was just hoping you did. One that could talk, and say,  _'Feed me Seymour,'_ or something."   
  
One of Coen's eyebrows raised, but his smile grew wider, "I don't recall talking plants ever being mentioned in the books about Terra, but that sounds really cool! Do they really exist in your world?"   
  
Leon sighed, "No...forget about it, it's a reference you probably won't get."   
  
While Leon wouldn't probably consider himself as someone who took a deep appreciation of nature, viewing the floral diversity in the garden had proven to be quite exhilarating in a way. Actually pleasant. More than likely because the flowers a dozen feet high, allowing him to see in greater detail the gradation and coloration. Aside from the one with transparent petals, another one that caught his eye was one with shimmering white petals that curved in a stellar-like fashion, along with another one which seemed to change color upon touch. Coen had mentioned something along the lines of it reading, "youth and hearts," or some crazy reasoning, but he had already had his sights on the one further down, which had been shaped like a mix between a cat and a  _centipede._  
  
While he still had the lingering uneasiness in his gut from being in a world so ridiculously large, as well as being held by a kid as tall as a building, even he couldn't deny that going outside had wound up being...nice.   
  
But after ten minutes of looking, Coen had already began on his way back to the loft to go back inside.   
  
Coen had walked up the closest ramp and under the eaves. Just as he got to the door, he seemed to have an epiphany, his head jerking up.   
  
"Oh! I almost forgot," he said, surprising the blond who jolted from the sudden outburst.   
  
Before Leon had the chance to ask, the child strode to one of the nearby tables, the hand he was on lowered to the glass surface. Leon found himself gently placed on his feet, and he couldn't help but gulp. The clear "ground" under him made it all too easy to see just how high up he was.   
  
He forced himself to bring his eyes up, and looked in the young giant's direction, who had moved away from the table and was on his hands and knees, searching the underside of one of the brown chairs, lifting the flap to have a closer look. After a moment, he lifted his head and made his way to the other one.   
  
"What are you doing?" Leon asked, scrunching his eyes.   
  
Coen lifted the flap of the second chair, "I'm searching for Terrans."   
  
The man's eyes bulged out, and he found himself fully alert.  _"What!?"_  
  
The dark-haired child didn't look up, eyes still darting around for any presence under the gigantic furniture. "Well, I did say I tried the spell several times. And if you're here, then there's a chance that it probably had worked before, right? But so far, you're the only one that's come up."   
  
"You've got to be kidding," Leon muttered, horrified. If there was another human like him, trapped in this world without the knowledge of what happened...who knows what could happen to them...or if something hadn't already happened. While being kept by a child was nothing to look forward to, there was an assurance of safety, at least from what the blond could tell, in that he knew where he was and was shielded from whatever dangers were outside.   
  
Then again, at least he wouldn't be alone in this.  
  
Coen lowered the flap and moved towards the bookcase. "Just making sure. I mean, so far when I searched yesterday...I didn't see any the last time I searched inside the house."   
  
"The last time you searched...when was that!?"   
  
"Last night. You were asleep."   
  
Coen's hand went through the shining barrier of the bookcase and he carefully shifted the books apart, looking through the gaps before righting the spines. After a few moments of searching bookcase, along with the fire pit and lounge chairs, Coen righted himself back up to full height. "So far, it seems like you're the only one."   
  
Leon felt no relief. "Wait, so you're telling me that there's a chance that another person was brought here...and you have no idea where they could've gone?"   
  
Coen walked back to the table, noting the look of worry on the human's face. "It's a  _very_  small possibility, but I doubt it. The study is directly below my bedroom, and you appeared the spot where I performed the spell, so I'm not counting it. Just wanted to be safe than sorry."   
  
The blond smacked a hand to his forehead,  _"The hell...?_ Coen...that's dangerous! What if someone is here!? They could get stepped on...eaten... _killed!"_  
  
The child seemed taken aback for a split second before he lowered himself a bit to him, "It's not like I hadn't expected anything like that to happen! I did place safeguards to make sure that they would end up around mansion. If they did appear, they would be around the house somewhere and I would have found them. Unless they're really,  _really_ good at hiding."   
  
Leon just dragged his hand down his face, his eyes not once leaving Coen's gigantic ones. He tried not to feel a little bit unnerved by them, but it was very hard, even when they were looking down at him sympathetically. Just talking to him felt mentally taxing. "Let's just...go back inside."   
  
Coen nodded, and placed his hand down for the human to climb. "Sure thing, Clip. And don't worry your little head off. I'll do a once over again later on."   
  
"It's Leon," the blond said with agitation, hesitating a bit before climbing on. This was just too weird, walking onto a hand bigger than his bed. "And don't forget you said we still have to talk about my living arrangements."   
  
Preferably one with a functional toilet and bathing utilities, but Leon doubted if they'd even have anything like that for people his size if what all the stuff Coen told him was anything to go by.    
  
Coen nodded, smiling once more as he slowly lifted his passenger up and made his way towards the mansion, "Of course I haven't! I was the one who reminded you, remember?"   
  
They passed through the patio doors, reentering the house. As the child righted the curtains back into place, Leon shivered as he re-acclimated to the warmer temperature.   
  
"Y'know, you still gotta tell me more about this place. Mira, I mean. And about those dimensional gates too." Leon said, crossing his arms to insulate more heat.   
  
"I'll talk about anything you want to know...well,  _almost_  anything," Coen quickly amended. "But first things first...making a more comfortable place for you."   
  
Leon opened his mouth, wanting to say more, but closed it after a moment. There'd be no point telling him he'd feel comfortable back in his own bed; the kid would have probably ignored him or change the subject. So he didn't press the issue.   
  
Coen made his way through the kitchen and walked through the corridors. Halfway though, both the blond and child heard a sound that made them freeze.   
  
Creaking on the stairs.   
  
Footsteps...   
  
Leon's, heart leaping in trepidation, braced himself on Coen's middle finger before seeing the boy's free hand shoot up and pat his shirt around for pockets.   
  
 _"Jumping imps below!"_  Coen muttered, slightly panicked. "Wait a sec..."  
  
Before Leon knew it, Coen turned and rushed to the living room. The blond gripped the finger tighter as he shut his eyes as the giant moved at dizzying speeds. He felt the giant stop in place before he was lowered far too quickly, making him gasp in fright.   
  
Coen placed him on the carpeted ground, and he was forced to reopen his eyes when his enormous hand pushed him under the space under the couch he was in front of.   
  
He stumbled a bit once the hand stopped pushing and he was under the shadow of the chair, and turned around to see only part of Coen's face lying outside of it. Although his head was still spinning, he could see his eye on him, giving him a cautionary look.   
  
"Stay under there," he instructed in a whisper, or what Leon thought was meant to be a whisper. Even his quietest voice was loud and amplified. "I'll tell you when it's safe."   
  
With that, the boy pushed himself up, jarring the human a bit, and then all he could see were the boy's shoes, which went away from him, leaving a residual quake with each step. After he was far enough, Leon could see more of him heading towards the kitchen once more, which was now far enough that the table and stools began to blur in the distance. From his vantage point, he could only make out the child's lower half, with him swinging onto a chair. One of his legs were restless.   
  
The footsteps were now louder than ever and...    
  
"Tekk Gono Coen. Pol'tin ga vare mitrida on talfu kil?"    
  
...   
  
 _What?  
  
_ "Good morning to you too, Mr. Renovan. I just went out for a bit, that's all," he heard Coen reply, in clear-cut English.  
  
A pair of dark-clad legs strode into view, along with a...tail?   
  
"Guv'me toom cha ku glim dos?" came the deep voice, in a strangely friendly manner.   
  
"Yeah, I already had breakfast. But thanks for offering," Coen responded cheerfully. Leon was feeling more at a loss.   
  
Curiosity bubbled up within the blond, as Coen and the newcomer began a friendly conversation. Under the darkness of the couch, Leon crouched and slowly moved forward, taking in more and more of the sight of the person who was speaking in that weird language. Once he was close enough, he sidled up to one of the wooden posts of the couch and observed the...person?   
  
Dressed in formal attire, was an absolutely  _gigantic_  burly man who looked like he was half-human and half-beast _._ While most of his body was covered in black dress boots, pants, vest and white collared shirt, the parts he could see had some strangely beastly features, such as the furry tail that swished behind him. His skin had an odd orange-ish tinge, contrasting from his monochrome clothing. He had a large, woolly beard that seemed to reach around his collarbones, with equally thick sideburns that jutted outwards. The crown of his head, on the other hand, did not have much hair, but instead beheld two gigantic horns that curved backwards, like a ram. He had goat-like ears, lowered downwards and primal, golden eyes behind a pair of round glasses.   
  
And he had a sharp, visible, tusk-like overbite...with teeth that looked to be as large as the human himself.   
  
Leon involuntarily gulped.   
  
Maybe he shouldn't have looked.  
  
"Solel hu? Guntappo dan gret gret junva. Derya d'lo erew gut." The gigantic half-goat man said in a deep, guttural voice. What was that incomprehensible language?   
  
Whatever it was, Coen seemed to understand it perfectly. "Nah...today, I'm probably just going to stay home. There's a few things I want to catch up on. Plus Mr. Loriscalo wants me to practice a few more techniques."   
  
The beast-man looked at Coen with those golden eyes with a look of understanding before sighing. "De'kli bov. Seti de'kli bov." He walked around the table to Coen, giving the boy an affectionate pat on the head. Coen returned the gesture with a smile, and the beast man walked into one of the corridor from where he came, his footsteps echoing even from afar. He saw Coen watch him go, head tilting to see the direction the half-creature man was going.   
  
There was a sound of a door closing in the distance, and Leon saw the boy push himself off the chair and quickly make his way back towards him. The giant's eyes fell on Leon's form immediately and once he was close, he got on one knee and reached for the human.   
  
The blond barely managed to suppress the urge to run when the child's fingers cradled him from behind and lifted him up and out from his hiding spot.   
  
"Mr. Renovan is going to be down here for a while," Coen told him, gently releasing him onto his other hand, "We're heading back up, okay?"   
  
"What  _is_ he?" Leon asked, adjusting his footing on the uneven surface of Coen's palm, "Why does he have horns and tusks?"   
  
Instead of an answer, he found himself rising higher as Coen stood back up. He immediately gripped one of his huge, curling fingers as he kneeled down. The child brought another hand up to shield him from sight and soon, he was making his way back the way to the stairs.   
  
Ascending up the stairs had been just as unpleasant as the day before, but it was a thankfully shorter ride. It only took a few seconds once again before they were back inside that vast bedroom. Coen shut the door behind him and went to the swivel chair. He sat down, but still held the young barista in his hand, those gigantic eyes watching him recover from all the movement.   
  
"First of all, Clip: you can't say 'what is he' just like that! That's  _racist!"_ Coen said, in a semi-scolding tone, "And second of all, that's Mr. Renovan. He's a Gamillian."   
  
"Say what now?" For once, Leon purposefully ignored the damn nickname in favor of hearing for an answer.  
  
"Gamillian... y'know..." Coen said before realization seemed to have dawned on him, "...or maybe you don't know. Ah, I keep forgetting Terrans don't know about other realms."   
  
With a wave of his free hand, one of the books on the floor began to float up in the air and flew towards Coen. He smoothly caught it and placed it down on his desk, opening the book to one of the pages.   
  
"Okay, so...I think you seeing pictures might help." Coen told him, flipping to a couple pages which depicted a photo of two of those half-human, half-beast creatures: one was a male wearing a dark black toga with a silver trim and the female wearing a long roman-style dress, looking far more human aside from the ring-adorned horns and tail. She even had her hair styled in a ponytail.   
  
"Mr. Renovan's a Gamillian. They're from the Uyuka Realm. I've never been there, but Mr. Renovan always stops by to see his family for vacation. The king comes here often to-"   
  
"Wait, wait,  _wait._ Hold on," Leon said, cutting him off, "So, let me get this straight...he's a person?"   
  
Coen winced, as if Leon had said something deeply offensive. "Of course he is! Isn't it obvious? My goodness Clip, you have got to learn respect."   
  
"And what about me," Leon asked, pointing to himself, "Aren't  _I_  a person?"   
  
"You're a Terran," Coen responded, tilting his head. As if it were a suitable answer.  
  
Leon felt his irritation bubbling, "And that means I'm...?"   
  
"Adorable," the boy answered with a smile, bringing a finger up to pat the blond's head.   
  
Groaning, he lifted his arm to try to block the finger but failed. "You're absolutely impossible. Seriously, how can you not see it?"   
  
"See what?"   
  
"That I'm a person."   
  
Coen squinted his eyes a bit, "But you're a pet."   
  
" _No,_ I'm not," Leon said, actually making an effort to keep himself from yelling. This was frustrating. He decided to change the subject before he'd get a migraine. "By the way...you speak English, right? But he was speaking..."   
  
"Western Gamu."   
  
"What?"   
  
Coen elaborated, pulling his finger away from Leon. "He's speaking Western Gamu. His language."   
  
"And you can understand him?"   
  
"I wouldn't have been able to talk to him if I couldn't."   
  
"So...can you speak it too?"   
  
Coen nodded, "Of course! Most Mirans can speak it. G'loki ton dev minuto butti fen."   
  
Leon blinked, "What...?"   
  
"I said, It is a pretty common language." Coen translated, smiling brightly. "I don't know about Terrans, but almost every Miran is fluent in two languages. I mean, don't you Terrans speak a second language too?"   
  
Leon reached up to clean his glasses with his sleeve. More out of just trying to avoid eye contact with Coen for too long than out for convenience's sake. "I mean, many of us have to study and learn a second language in grade school. And there are some people who are just bilingual if they are immigrating or have parents from another country. I learned Spanish, but I'm not fluent."   
  
"Well, if you want, I can start teaching you Gamu." Coen offered, looking ecstatic at the prospect of teaching the relatively tiny human more.   
  
"I'll pass for now," Leon answered brusquely, "Besides, I want to ask more about that Mr. Renovan guy. Is he...is he, uh,  _dangerous?"_  
  
Coen physically balked at the question, throwing his head back a bit before frowning. He shook his head. "What the...no! Mr. Renovan is the kindest person ever! He wouldn't hurt a  _gnat!_ I've known him all my life, and the last thing I'd ever call him is dangerous!"   
  
"But...those teeth, and eyes. He...wouldn't  _eat_  me if he saw me...would he?"   
  
 _"Eat you?_  Absolutely not. He's a  _vegetarian._ Almost all Gamillians are herbivores. And he  _loves_ tiny critters! If it weren't for the chance that he might tell my aunt, I'd show you to him!"   
  
"Please don't," Leon half-groaned, half-begged.  
  
"I won't," Coen assured, "After all, nobody's supposed to know that I have you. At least, not them anyway. Temralia knows I've been trying to get a Terran. Gotta tell her the good news when she comes here."   
  
Perhaps Leon should have pretended to be asleep for longer. Then again...going outside had been a good venture.   
  
There was a question that had bugged Leon for some time now, though. Maybe now was the time to ask it.   
  
"Say Coen...I've been wondering for a bit and, its just something really weird."   
  
"Ask away."   
  
"Alright so..." Leon began, steeling himself before looking straight at those gigantic orbs on him, "You speak English. And Ms. Aria...that lady from yesterday...," he recalled, his mouth pinching up in memory of suddenly being slid into Coen's pocket pricking up in his mind. "She spoke it too. So, I've got to ask...how do you know it?"   
  
Coen answered swiftly, "Well, I know it because it's my native tongue. Same for most Mirans."   
  
"Even though it's a human language?"   
  
The boy let out a small chuckle, startling Leon a bit who scuttered back a bit to his fingers. "What do you mean it's a Terran language? It's our language. Didn't expect Terrans to stick with it though for all this time."   
  
Leon's eyes widened in shock.   
  
"Huh!? Wait, what do you mean by that."   
  
"Truth be told, I could go on and on all about that, but it'd be dark by the time I even get halfway, and besides..." Coen lowered Leon to the desk, setting him standing on the wooden surface. "We still have to talk about your living arrangements."   
  
Leon really didn't want to change the subject just yet. What did Coen mean by it was  _their_ language? That it was their native tongue? Wasn't English a human language? Coen hadn't casted a spell to know it?   
  
Coen didn't give him any time to ponder on it though, as he took him away from his thoughts when he held his arms apart, roughly three dozen feet apart. "I'm thinking of getting you a dollhouse probably around this size, two stories at most. Not too big, not too small. What do you think?"   
  
"Hold on, a sec, I...English and..." Leon shook his head. He had a feeling that Coen would probably redirect the conversation. So why bother? "Can I just get a place with a bed? Like an  _actual_  bed? Not a bunch of cloth and tissue."   
  
"Sure thing! Already was planning on getting you one."   
  
"And more clothes?"   
  
"Of course!"   
  
"A tub?"   
  
"Done and done! But I'll have to probably fill it myself."   
  
"And a...functional toilet?"   
  
Coen let out a nervous laugh, "I'll, uh...do the best I can."   
  
Leon grimaced. It felt odd that he'd have to ask things from a  _child_  of all things. In what insane world did he have to depend on a kid for housing and shelter?   
  
This world apparently. If he already wasn't a lunatic.   
  
"Oh, and since you might get bored, I'll see about getting you something along the way. I'd take you along the way if I could, so you could pick out what you want but then Aunt Renice might see you, so..."   
  
"If that's the case, then if you could get me a TV, that'd be great. But I'm going to assume you probably don't have anything like that for me at my size here, do you?" Leon asked with a sneer.   
  
The giant smiled in amusement, "Well, I'd love to see you react to that if I told you yes. But I won't lie. I can show you some of our shows if you'd like on our screen. But I don't watch TV all that much myself."   
  
"Then, what can you get me to keep me from getting bored? It's obvious that whatever language your books are written in, I'm basically illiterate in. Let alone are anything in my size."   
  
"I have an idea, but until I put it into practice, there's no way for me to try it," said Coen, tapping at the table with one hand. Leon could feel the reverberations under his feet. "In any case, I'll try to find something for little ol' you to pass the time so you won't be bored out of your mind."   
  
Leon eyed at the tapping finger, and the young giant picked up his cue for wanting him to stop.   
  
"Seriously Coen, didn't you think this through? Like,  _at all?"_ Leon spat up to the boy. He didn't mean for it to come out that way, but he was a bit agitated with the way Coen patronized him.   
  
But the boy gave no impression that his tone affected him in any way. "Well, how could I know what you would've wanted before I got the chance to even get you?"   
  
"No, I meant where I was going to stay. Were you really gonna have me stay in that dumb box with a pail and a bunch of tissue and cloth the whole time?"   
  
The blond jumped a bit when Coen's lips pursed, his face drawn into a pout as it neared him. He took several steps back when the giant's head was directly above him, casting a shadow over him. "Well, if you  _must_ know, I thought that I made a good starter for you, y'know? It's no castle, but I thought I did an okay job." Turning his head away, the giant mumbled, "You're just high maintenance."   
  
Leon's panic began to steadily dwindle away as he began to comprehend what the giant had said. His fear giving way to annoyance.  _"High maintenance?_  Are you  _screwing_  with me? It's called the basic standard of living! That box doesn't even have a damn  _door!_ And who are you to say I'm high maintenance when you literally turned down 'normal pets' to get a hold of  _me?"_  
  
Coen looked like wanted to retort, opening his mouth to say something but closed it a couple seconds later. His eyes shifted to the side, thoughtful, before he looked back to Leon and sighed.   
  
"Alright, you got me there," the raven-haired child admitted, to Leon absolute shock. "I'm a bit spoiled, I won't deny it. But it isn't like I just sit around and do nothing. I'm in training to be an archmage after all."   
  
"You've got to explain more about this archmage stuff to me."   
  
"I will, but first we have to talk about arrangements. Is there a certain way you want the dollhouse to look like?"   
  
Leon thought for a moment and sighed. "Just...not some place that's super pink or bright enough to give me a seizure."   
  
"That's all?" Coen inquired.   
  
"That's all." Leon replied.   
  
Coen leaned up in his chair, giving the human some space to relax. "Alrighty then! When Aunt Renice takes me out to the Bazaar, I'll get you the best dollhouse I can."   
  
"And one more thing..." Leon began, taking a moment to look around as much of the room as he could. The cards on the floor, the formerly "living" figurines, countless books and the like, all strewn about. No way to sum it up less than an organized mess. "Isn't she going to be a bit suspicious that you'd want a dollhouse? I mean, I've only known you for a bit, but from what I gather, you don't really strike me as the type of kid who's into playing house."   
  
"I'll tell her that I need it to practice with moving enchanted objects then. It's kinda true too, I need them to practice in different ways besides fighting."  Coen followed Leon's gaze to the figurines on the floor, smiling a bit before returning to look back at the human. "Maybe I'd even have them act in my place to get you out if I get skilled enough."   
  
"How about I say no to that?" Leon said wryly. The thought of several tall, dark moving statues walking about and breaching his privacy wasn't all that welcoming. "At least while I'm inside and don't know."   
  
"I was half-joking about that. I will give you warning though if I need to try to get them in their for practice though."   
  
"You already seemed like you have it covered from what I saw. I mean, they were moving like actual people when you showed me."   
  
"Well, that's only because I could  _see_ them," Coen explained, lifting an arm up to point to his eyes. "The next objective is for me to control them not just remotely, but without looking. When I see them, I can control each of their actions perfectly. But only if they're in my sight. So now I have to get them all moving naturally when they're not. Sense each of them and have them move simultaneously. It's...harder than it sounds."   
  
"Heh, I can imagine," Leon said distractedly as looked around the expansive room, trying to find some sort of clock or anything that could tell time. Given that he was in another world, he couldn't exactly tell time from the sun alone in the window, not that he was good at that sort of thing anyway.   
  
"Clock's above my bed, and it's ten minutes til' eight," Coen answered, seemingly to have either read the human's mind or picked up on the blond's obvious search.   
  
Leon's mouth quirked. It'd been a while since he woke up before nine o'clock. Let alone stay up as long after having been up before sunrise. Last time he had been up as early as he had, he had a geology class he needed to finish an assignment for.    
  
Speaking of class...   
  
"Don't you have school to go to Coen? Shouldn't you be getting ready?"   
   
Leon was surprised to see Coen snicker, bringing up a hand to cover his mouth. Leon raised an eyebrow. Did he find the question that funny? Where was the humor in it?   
  
"Hehe...no offense Clip but, uh...I'm a  _little_  bit ahead of most kids my age. I don't think primary school can really teach me thing I already know. Just saying."   
  
"It's Leon. For a boy genius, you're kind of obnoxious, you know that?"   
  
"I'll let that slide for now," Coen warned, bringing his hand towards Leon and lightly poking him. The blond recoiled from the touch and stumbled backwards. Even actions liked that made his heart race. While mentally he had began to slowly believe this gigantic child wouldn't hurt him, his body instinctively prepared itself for a painful incoming whenever the giant got too close. After Leon straightened up and forced himself to calm down, Coen spoke once again, "But no, I don't go to regular school. I'm well ahead of the curve. But I do get taught in advanced mage training. I have to wait several years before I'm old enough to go to the Stellian Academy. I have a guaranteed spot though."   
  
"You talk like an adult with a babyface. Like, I'm not used to hearing kids talk like this."   
  
"Well then, let me be quiet for a moment and change the subject," Coen lowered his chin to the table, allowing Leon's head o be almost leveled with his eyes, which reflected brightly under the sun's brilliance, full of unmasked curiosity and enthusiasm. Leon felt extremely uncomfortable seeing them on him so intently.   
  
"Like I said before, Mr. Renovan will probably be downstairs for a while, and I don't want to risk taking you out this room when everyone should be just about getting ready around now, so..." Leon twisted around to see Coen's arms fold in from above and close in from behind him, forming a fence as he locked his fingers across. The interlocked hands moved forward and Leon quickly stepped forward to avoid them, only for them to stop directly behind him. Leon looked back at the enormous face that was in front of him, the smile wide and sincere. He swallowed a bit, feeling parched once more.   
  
"So little Clip," Coen asked, his voice low enough to not harm the human's ears, "Tell me about yourself." 


End file.
